Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as FBI Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder on “The X-Files” original run. Photo courtesy of Fox.

Fox is reopening “The X-Files” for a limited run.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will again bicker as FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigating the unexplained, paranormal cases in the “X-Files” when the series returns for six episodes this summer on Fox.

Chris Carter, who created the hit series that finished its initial nine-year run 13 years ago, will return as creator-executive producer of the reboot. “I think of it as a 13-year commercial break,” Carter said in the Fox announcement. “The good news is the world has only gotten that much stranger, a perfect time to tell these six stories.”

For various reasons, limited-run series are appealing to networks, viewers, creators and talent. The “X-Files” reboot is slated for summer 2015, dates to be announced later. Spot the trend: “The X-Files” joins cult TV hits “24,” “Twin Peaks” and “Heroes,” lately resurrected as limited series.

“Bloodline” on Netflix today offers a terrific cast but a slow start, and another dysfunctional family with dark secrets. From the creators of “Damages,” this drama set in the Florida keys lacks the instantly mesmerizing crackling character that Glenn Close provided in that legal drama.

“Bloodline” brings the troubles of another seaside family into focus. It is not campy — it’s less fun than “Revenge,” with better actors and without the formal wear — and it’s not pretentious, like the Cape Cod clan of “The Affair.” It’s just not instantly gripping, despite the advantage of Kyle Chandler’s (“Friday Night Lights”) return to TV.

Unlike those shows about families with horrible secrets, the swamps and alligators in “Bloodline” aren’t just metaphorical.

Chandler, Linda Cardellini, Norbert Leo Butz and Ben Mendelsohn portray the adult children of Sam Shepard and Sissy Spacek’s Robert and Sally Rayburn, stalwarts of the island community and long-time innkeepers. Shepard and Spacek give the most convincing performances. When the bad-boy eldest son Danny (Mendelsohn) returns home, fear and resentment ripple through the family. Will he mess up again? Does he want money? Will everyone be sucked into his needs? Younger brother John (Chandler), the good-boy son who is now the local sheriff, has always taken care of his brother.

When something awful happens to Danny at the end of the first hour, John lets the audience know through an annoying narration device that, “we’re not bad people but we did a bad thing.” And so a mystery takes off. If you’ve got the time and the interest to follow.

Capping a season of unprecedented ratings success, Fox’s “Empire” pushed every button in its two-hour season 1 finale. Sexual, romantic, musical, violent, worshipful, tragic, schmaltzy and both bling- and star-studded. A culmination of its high drama, instantly popular music and sensational casting (Taraji P. Henson!), it was, you might say, “peaches n’cream.”

“It’s gotta be epic! It’s gotta be like a supernova! That’s how I want to go out,” Lucious (Terence Howard) said at the start. And that’s how “Empire” went out for the season.

Talk about a brand: with music downloads, extra features online and a lock on the title of breahout hit of the season, “Empire” in its debut season quickly solidified a place in the popular culture. Moreover, it sparked discussions of race, racial stereotyping, homophobia in the black community and the media’s treatment of minorities. All that and a shout out to #BlackLivesMatter.

EMPIRE: Cookie (Taraji P. Henson, L) is cooking up a plan of her own in the special two-hour “Die But Once/Who I Am” Season Finale episode of EMPIRE airing Wednesday, March 18 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. CR: Chuck Hodes/FOX

This is not your grandparents’ black primetime ensemble. In TV history terms, these characters are lightyears from the perfectionist, tidy Huxtables who were defined by their designation as minority Role Models. The Lyons are cheating, drug-dealing, even murdering hustlers, up from nothing, “ghetto rats,” to phenomenal riches, artists who have arrived at the top of the hip-hop music industry. And still murderous. “Checkmate, bitch!” Progress means minorities can be tragically flawed humans, too.

A better than “Dynasty”-level catfight (choreographed by Debbie Allen), melodramatic turns (likewise “Dynasty”-like) and a great soundtrack not only brought a younger demographic to the screen. It brought a distinct modern sensibility.

A photo of Neil deGrasse Tyson for COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY on Nat Geo.

Astrophysicist and pop culture hero Neil deGrasse Tyson will host a late night talk show on National Geographic Channel, “Star Talk” to premiere April 20.

The man who walked us through “Cosmos” on Fox and talks us through space with a popular podcast will now hold forth on a weekly cable series, the first for NatGeo. The show has booked “cultural luminaries across science, entertainment and politics, like President Jimmy Carter, Richard Dawkins, Chris Hadfield, Norman Lear, Christopher Nolan, George Takei” and others as guests. See the schedule so far.

The show is essentially an expansion of Tyson’s popular podcast. National Geographic’s release said, “the hour-long, weekly series infuses pop culture with science, while bringing together comedians and celebrities to delve into a wide range of topics. Each week, in a private interview, Dr. Tyson explores all the ways that science and technology have influenced the life and livelihood of his guests, whatever their background.”

Tyson’s statement:

“Expanding the StarTalk radio show and podcast into a television show on National Geographic Channel offers a unique opportunity to show viewers how pervasive science is in our culture and how entertaining science can be,” said Dr. Tyson. “Throughout the show we explore current issues with top industry leaders and pair that with comical, but informed, commentary. From politicians and actors to scientists, social activists and more, the impact of science knows no bounds.”

NBC’s “One Big Happy,” premiering tonight (at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9), is one big misfire. No matter that it bears Ellen DeGeneres’ name as producer. No matter that Elisha Cuthbert (“24″) tries so very, very hard to make the shallow concept work. There’s even less here than meets the eye.

The concept, underlined and italicized and screamed repeatedly through 23 minutes, is that Lizzy (Cuthbert) is a lesbian. And Lizzy the lesbian is having a baby with her platonic friend Luke (Nick Zano). Just as the artificial insemination is successful, Nick meets Prudence (Kelly Brook), falls in love and marries her. Now it’s “Three’s Company” plus gay jokes, running in a seemingly endless loop.

If the script by Liz Feldman (“Two Broke Girls”) were less tedious, if the acting by Cuthbert were bearable, if the whole enterprise were based on more than one joke…it might’ve worked.

As it is, the show underscores and screams NBC’s need for a fresh comedy in the wake of “Parks and Rec” and “Community.”

Anyone who followed “Broadchurch,” the British murder mystery set in a seaside town full of colorful characters, probably found that production more engaging than the American adaptation, “Gracepoint.” But anyone who returned to “Broadchurch” for season 2 is being rewarded with an even better followup to the dark first season.

The second round starts at a suspenseful high point — the trial of the accused killer of 11-year-old Daniel Latimer — and only gets more intriguing from there. No spoilers.

In season 2, a case from the lead detective’s past is reopened and intertwined with the Latimer murder trial. Beautifully intricate plotting and great acting combine to make this a superb cap to a great first season.

In addition to the terrrific Olivia Colman and David Tennant, the second season features Marianne Jean-Baptiste and the legendary Charlotte Rampling. The tale delivers telling psychological profiles, interlocking histories, and evolving relationships as it explores the ramifications of a single act on an entire community. (The less said the better to save the pleasure for viewers.)

Writer-creator Chris Chibnall (“Law & Order: UK,” “Life on Mars”) deserves credit for a masterful juggling act, keeping suspense going in both cases while further involving the viewer in the charcters’ lives.

“iZombie” is a clever hour-long mashup of comedic, detective and undead genres that marks the return to television of Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright (both of “Veronica Mars”). Light action combines with a teen-angsty, knowing tone in a way that will please fans of that earlier cult favorite.

Premiering March 17 on the CW (locally at 9 p.m. on Channel 2), “iZombie” has girl power written all over it.

The series stars Rose McIver as Olivia “Liv” Moore, an upbeat, talented, “type-A” med student with a hunky fiance and an ambitious life plan. Except… she inexplicably finds herself at the center of a zombie infestation. When she awakes, pale, undead and hungry for brains, she figures she must leave med school and get a job at the Seattle coroner’s office. There she not only has access to brain food, so to speak, but when she eats the brains of the deceased, she inherits the memories and abilities of the departed. In this way she is suddenly able to solve crimes, an undead gumshoe with medical knowledge and a supportive boss/sidekick.

She passes as human by pretending to be Goth. Her boss Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli) is onto her, but impressed enough by her skills to keep the secret.

Of course the story is secondary to the wit and wisecracks of this world. But McIver’s standout performance and remarkable range should win the New Zealand actor (“The Lovely Bones,” “The Piano”) new followers.

“The Social Life” a new travel and food series on HLN, will focus on Boulder on March 17. The hook is the use of social media to find local curiosities, obscure favorites and insider advice on each location.

“The Social Life” is hosted by Ali Nejad, self-described travel junkie and foodie (and host of The Daily Share on HLN).

In Boulder, Ali checks out “the funky street performer scene,” a Tajikistani tea ceremony at Dushanbe Tea House, bouldering, organic lunch at Zeal, bon bons at Piece Love and Chocolate. He strikes a balance between outdoorsy hiking and exploring The Farm, a legal marijuana dispensary, where he expresses innocence and learns all about the legalities, strains and more. “Walk me through it,” he asks the budtender.

“It is a brave new world out here in Boulder!” He gives the 300 days of sunshine per year an endorsement.

Interestingly, when he asks the twitterverse to recommend the coolest place in Boulder, the result is perhaps unexpected: NCAR. He gets an educational tour of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

9News was honored with two Walter Cronkite Awards today for its excellence in TV political journalism. The “Fact Check” feature conducted through the political season was cited as exemplary.

The awards, given biennially since 2000, recognize compelling storytelling, accuracy and service to citizens during election season. Specifically, KUSA’s fact-checking of political advertising and Brandon Rittiman and Kyle Clark’s season-long debate moderating were recognized. The jury said “KUSA continues to produce the best fact checking segments on local TV” and “Rittiman’s presentation is exemplary: “He doesn’t rush through complicated material,” the jury said, “he gives viewers time to absorb the images, the text and his findings.”

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, said, “KUSA’s commitment to fact checking is unrivaled.” The station produced 55 fact-checking segments in 2014.

“KUSA made the commitment to deeper political analysis over the last 10 years. 9NEWS
introduced Truth Tests, hosted innumerable debates, and produced specialized content including ‘voice of the voter’ segments and a panel discussion featuring 12 undecided voters as just a part of that commitment. Kyle and Brandon worked long hours to produce this expansive and important content,” said Patti Dennis, Gannett vice president and former news director of 9NEWS.

The awards were announced by by the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California’s
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Along with KUSA, Austin’s KXAN was honored in the large-market station category.

House of Cards – Episode 303 – Production Stills 02Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in Season 3 of Netflix’s “House of Cards.” Photo credit: David Giesbrecht for Netfli

“House of Cards” season 3 on Netflix is a crazy Washington political drama, a tale of a greedy, duplicitous– even murderous couple, with a kernel of truth hidden somewhere in the wild fiction. The show’s depiction of legislative, executive and judicial functions is unrealistic. It’s also crazy-addictive.

Political junkies can love the vision of Washington and the press in “House of Cards,” at the same time that we hate the liberties taken with the truth. Season 3 of the Netflix original went off the rails in ways the first two seasons didn’t, while still holding a mirror to American politics and blind ambition.

Speaking of that recurring motif… “I don’t recognize myself when I look in the mirror,” First Lady Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) said. Scene after scene positioned mirrors in view, whether bedroom looking glasses, truck rear-view mirrors or reflections in bowls or vases. We get it. But what crazy funhouse mirrors. Let’s take the wildest plot lines first:

1. Inviting a novelist into the inner sanctum of their lives, Claire and Frank (Kevin Spacey) unburden themselves, reveal secrets about their marriage and even flirt with the young man, who is of course sleeping with the journalist most critical of the Underwood Administration. This subplot was an overwritten mess.

2. The pleasure of admiring Spacey’s voice and the way Wright carries off couture does not a satisfying series make. How many scenes seemed to exist only to showcase these assets?

3. Reality should have intruded at least in regard to the nomination of the First Lady to be ambassador to the United Nations. Word is, that sort of nepotism would be illegal.

4. Bringing Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) around from presumed dead at the end of season 2, to suicidally depressed alcoholic, and back to chief of staff was a stretch. The only thing that might have made the character less credible is if he and Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnan) had ridden off into the sunset together. Read more…

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.